Mentalist Episode Tag: Crimson Casanova, 1x14
by Donnamour1969
Summary: Part of the Super Duper Tag Project. Missing scenes and post episode. Cho's thoughts on love, women, and bad advice. Rated T for adult themes. Humor/Friendship.


A/N: I love this episode! It has everything: a fun, engaging case, great acting, and even shades of melancholy. Not to mention some of the greatest classic lines and scenes from the series ever. Accordions. Cho-business. All I can get with one call is a pizza. Jane calling Lisbon woman. Nose tweaking. Jane using his ring to rebuff a woman. I especially loved Cho in this episode, so I think I'll focus on his perspective in this tag. I hope you enjoy it.

**Episode Tag: Crimson Casanova, 1x14**

Cho helped Katie up from the hotel room floor, and the pair of unlikely confidants walked to the door.

"Thank you, Kimball," she said in the hallway. "You've really helped me to see things more clearly."

"You're welcome," Cho replied, before finding himself tightly enfolded in her arms. When she stepped back, tears were in her eyes.

"Good luck," he said. "Stay away from the jerks."

She laughed. "I'll try."

"Ahem," came the sound of Paul Fricke clearing his throat. Katie looked at her former lover in surprise, and maybe a hint of satisfaction. He was clearly jealous of what this must have looked like—she and Agent Cho coming out of a hotel room together.

"Paul," she said.

The pickup artist looked from Katie to Cho, venom in his eyes. But he could say nothing. He had no right to say anything.

"I had a great time," said Cho, lapsing back into his undercover persona. He leaned forward and gave Katie a lingering kiss on the cheek for Fricke's benefit. "I'll call you," he said, and he squeezed her hand and flashed his dimpled smile.

"Bye Kimball," Katie called after him.

Fricke said nothing, but turned back toward the lounge. He could do with a nice, stiff drink.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

In a million years, Cho would not understand women, especially the ones who fell for players like Frick. Like he'd told Katie, there really must be something psychologically wrong with them. Then again, for the most part, except where female suspects were concerned, Cho didn't understand women at all. Which wasn't to say he didn't respect them.

He respected his mother and grandmother. He respected Van Pelt and Lisbon, and any other woman good at her job. In fact, he respected all women—just like he respected a loaded weapon. It could cause no harm if you stayed well clear of it and the safety was on. Jane was correct in saying that women were like accordions, Cho thought. Trouble was, he had no idea how to play an accordion, or even which button to press first.

Cho arrived at Room 206 to find Rigsby and Van Pelt packing away the last of the surveillance equipment. Now there was a disaster waiting to happen, thought Cho. His partner was madly, annoyingly in love with the young agent, and yet she didn't seem to be interested in him at all. Rigsby should either bang her and get it out of his system, or pick up someone else—or as many _someones_ as it took- and forget about her. Cho really didn't care which; he just wanted the sexual tension to quit interfering with his work environment.

"Who showed up?" Cho asked with regard to the murder suspect.

Lisbon and Jane were gone, and they were packing things up here, so something must have gone down.

"Haightly, the hotel guy. He was in love with Katie too. Showed up with a gun and a bullet with your name on it, pal."

"Huh," sad Cho noncommittally. Jane had been right again.

"Lisbon took him back to Sacramento."

Cho pitched in to help, and while Van Pelt took the first load back out to the company SUV, Rigsby was looking at Cho in a completely new light.

"Hey, where were you?" Rigsby asked. "I tried calling you several times."

"I didn't answer." Stating the obvious was sometimes the best reply.

Rigsby grin had a bit of the lascivious about it. "You were with that Katie girl, weren't you? Alone…in a hotel room?"

"So?"

"Did you two, uh…you _know_…?"

"What?" said Cho icily, which was usually successful in shutting down any personal questions from most people. Rigsby wasn't most people.

"You were like some sorta Casanova out there—those girls didn't know what hit 'em. Apparently I've taking pointers from the wrong guy."

Cho shrugged. Sometimes no answer was the best answer of all.

"Come on, man," Rigsby said. "Who would have thought Mr. Deadpan is a ladies' man? What's your secret?"

He wasn't letting this go. Cho sighed internally.

"Be yourself," he said.

Rigsby stared. "You're kidding me. That's the lamest advice I've ever heard."

Cho met his partner's eye straight on, willing him to take what he said at face value and drop it. Cho picked up the newly packed suitcase of equipment and headed toward the door.

Truth was, that's exactly what Cho had done. He was no different around women he was picking up than he was everyone else. He did it that way because Kimball Cho knew no other way. He had no idea why it worked, but it did, every time.

Just then, Van Pelt returned for another load.

"Wait a second," Rigsby called to Cho. "I think we need a woman's opinion."

Van Pelt raised an eyebrow. She hated getting in the middle of their stupid little arguments.

"No we don't," said Cho, but as usual, Rigsby ignored what he didn't want to hear.

"Hey, Grace," Rigsby said, "Why do you think those women in the bar went for Cho's line?"

Van Pelt looked at Cho thoughtfully. "It's the mysteriousness. And the dimples," she finished with a mischievous grin.

Cho felt his cheeks tinge with red.

"Seriously?" said Rigsby, frowning. He still didn't see it.

Cho wished he could be anywhere else but there at that moment.

"Some men just…have it," Van Pelt added. "Some men…_don't_." Her barb hit home, and it was Rigsby's turn to blush.

Cho smirked to himself on the way out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Why don't you go find Jane," said Rigsby, as the trio put the last of the surveillance equipment in the back of the SUV. "You guys have gotten so close lately."

Cho shut the hatchback.

"Shut up."

Rigsby snickered. "Yeah, he's been giving you dating advice, going shopping with you…What's next, a spa day?"

Rigsby went to the driver's side and got in, chuckling at his own joke. Cho chose not to dignify his nonsense with any reaction whatsoever. That always seemed to get to the gregarious Rigsby the most.

"I'll get Jane," said Cho, glad to get away from the guy for a few minutes. There was nothing more irritating than when Wayne Rigsby thought he was on a roll.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cho entered the lounge and paused as he watched a gorgeous brunette approach Jane at the bar. Jane at first appeared very interested, but then he held up his left hand, fingering his wedding band, and the woman left. Cho shook his head in surprise mixed with a little sympathy. Jane obviously still loved his wife too much to move on. Cho could understand that, he supposed.

Cho himself was a romantic, and believed that when someday he found the perfect woman for him, there could be never be another. He was definitely a fan of tragic love stories, though he wouldn't admit that to Rigsby for a million bucks. There was something poignant, even honorable about them.

He walked straight to the bar and stood beside Jane.

"Hey," Cho said, pretending he hadn't just witnessed him rebuffing a beautiful woman. "We're leaving."

He glanced at Cho, raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "One for the road?"

The thought of the long drive with Rigsby almost made him relent, but then he remembered the paperwork waiting for him back at the CBI.

"No. I'm still on the job."

Jane sighed, then reached for his wallet and tossed a few bills on the bar.

The two men walked back through the hotel lobby and out into the parking lot, neither of them noticing the appreciative looks from the ladies.

"Great work today, by the way, Kimball," said Jane. "You're a natural."

"Thanks."

"No, seriously. If you ever decide to quit the CBI and become a pickup artist, I'd say you'd be in tall cotton in no time."

"Right."

"Lots of women like the strong, silent type. It intrigues them."

"That's what Van Pelt said," Cho admitted.

"See? When I'm right, I'm right. Now, with just a little bit of fine tuning-"

"I do all right," protested Cho.

He'd had enough romantic advice for one day, especially from the likes of a lovesick giant and an obsessed widower. Besides, women might be a mystery to him, but when he was feeling lonely, he never had trouble finding company.

Jane chuckled, then gave the younger man a friendly slap on the back.

"I'm sure you do, Cho. I'm sure you do."

**A/N: Re-watching these old episodes makes me really long for the old team. They worked so well together, and they felt more like a family of squabbling siblings, lol. I was saying on Twitter that I think Jane and Cho should get closer now that Rigsby is gone, maybe have an odd couple kind of bromance. What do you think?**

**Thanks for reading! This is my last tag contribution for Season 1. Keep an eye out for others in the Super Duper Tag Project. **


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